A Trip to Houston and Galveston

August 4, 2017 - August 8, 2017

Blog by Maggie and photos by Brandy!

I flew to Houston on Thursday (August 4) and arrived at my son's (Karl) house at about 2:30. After settling in I played with Acen (my grandson) most of the afternoon while Brandy (my daughter-in-law) made preparations for our trip to Galveston, cooked dinner, and caught me up on how the family was doing.  Acen has become very verbal and has a great vocabulary...he has grown up so much since I saw him in December and for the first time he remembers me and is comfortable with me right from the start of our visit.  Needless to say, with the time change, travel, and playing all afternoon I was exhausted.

After diner we snuggled on the couch
and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning we did some grocery shopping for the trip and were packed and ready to go by the time Karl got home from work at 2:00 pm.  Fortunately we missed most of the rush hour traffic (which can be brutal in Houston) and arrived at the condo in Galveston and were settled in by 5:00 pm.  The condo was perfect for all of us including the two dogs.  It had just enough room for relaxation, cooking and sleeping.

This is the view from our balcony.
We were right across the street from the Gulf.

After dinner we headed to the beach to do some exploring.  Acen is fascinated with sea creatures and was thrilled when his dad found a crab hiding in the rocks.

Here we are searching for treasure on the beach.

"What's in those holes, Grandma?" 

The sunset over the beach was beautiful.

On Saturday morning we headed to the beach.  The sand is different than east coast sand, but still lots of fun to play in. 

Acen is collecting seaweed.

It started to rain a bit so after lunch we headed to the pool at the condo so we would be close to shelter if it started to thunder and lightning.

The pool at the condo was spacious and never crowded.

We had fun in the smaller 3 foot pool that was fed by a "river"
and had a gentle slope into the water.

This photo speaks for itself.

The next day we spent the morning at the pool, but it started raining around lunch and we retreated to the condo.  It remained cloudy and rainy all afternoon.

We entertained ourselves with some you tube
videos of dinosaurs.

We drove to a shell shop (Murdock's) to find some hermit crab food for the crab Acen and his daddy had found at the beach the night before.  It was huge with a wide variety of clothing, toys, and decorative items. We found the hermit crab food, but the clerk informed us that the crab we had was a salt water crab and would require sand and salt water.  Since salt water is not easily available in Houston we decided to free the crab and skip the food and cage.  I bought a mermaid plaque for the boat and Acen got a large crab (which he took with him everywhere). We had dinner at Shrimp and Stuff and returned to the condo.  

Next morning we decided to make it a pool day.

Acen and Karl are looking for the rabbit they
found in the bushes next to the pool.

Acen sees the rabbit.

Acen became comfortable enough in the water to
take off his water wings and jump to me from the rock ledge.

After a dinner of grilled steak and asparagus, we walked to the beach to try and get someone to take a photo of all four of us.

Success!

Brandy snapped this great picture.

We all had a fun and relaxing time making family memories in Galveston.  It was so great to spend time with my son and his family.  But, inevitably, the short vacation had to come to an end.  We said our goodbyes after shopping one last time at Murdock's Shell Shop (Acen snagged another crab).  I drove to the airport to head back to Baltimore and Karl and his family headed home to Houston.  We will have to take a trip like this together again soon!

Thank you for reading my Blog.  

My next blog will be about my visit to Pittsburgh.

Our Maine Vacation - part two

July 28, 2017 - July 31, 2017

We woke up to a heavy fog hoping that it would burn off by the time our whale watching excursion began.  After breakfast we drove into the small town of Lubec.  The down town area consisted of one block of shops and restaurants of which several were no longer in open for business.  We were mainly there to take photographs anyway. 

Main Street in Lubec is colorful and quaint.

I am amazed at the wildflowers that bloom everywhere.

These buildings are on the water when the tide is high.
The tidal range in Lubec is around 30 feet.

All over the coast of Maine residents
decorate their houses with vibrant flowers.

A landscape artist captures the stark beauty of the harbor.

This memorial to Lost Fishermen lists the names of
the local fishermen who have been lost at sea.

The fog burned off by lunch time and we were able to go on our whale watching excursion. We saw whales, dolphins, eagles, seals, and a light house on the Canadian side of the bay. I was so busy looking for and admiring the sea life that I didn't take any photos.

This is the boat that took us and 14 other people
on the excursion.

The Next morning we left Lubec and drove to our hotel in Lincolnville which is just outside of Camden, Maine.  We stopped in Belfast for lunch at the Harbor Walk Cafe and Pub and then walked down to the harbor.

This statue was outside the Harbor Walk Cafe.
His name tag labels him as the harbor master.

These musicians were playing folk songs
in the small park by the harbor.

We met our friends from Annapolis who have moved their sailboat to Rockland, Maine in Camden and toured the harbor. It was just wonderful to see them again and catch up. Later Bob and Tom rested at a pub while Karen and I did some shopping in the unique shops.

Here's Tom, Bob, and Karen (left to right)
at the harbor in Camden.

Our next stop was Rockport, Maine to tour the harbor.

Beautifully maintained wooden boats in Rockport Harbor

We had dinner at a unique restaurant in Rockland called Miranda's.  It had an extensive menu and the food was excellent. We made plans to meet Tom and Karen the next day at their marina to spend the day exploring some of the area lighthouses and visiting the Farnsworth Art museum in Rockland that features Andrew Wyeth watercolors and drawings.  Wyeth spent his summers in a town nearby.

We visited Owl's Head Light first.

The views from the light house were stunning.

We drove down to the harbor which was
a true working harbor.  Since it was Sunday the
lobster pots were stacked on the dock.

Bob and Tom are solving the world's
problems at Owl's Head Light.

The second light house is Marshall Point Light.

After lunch at Luke's restaurant we traveled back to Rockland to view the Wyeth paintings at the Farnsworth Art Museum.  We watched a movie of Andrew Wyeth's life and development as an artist which made the paintings all the more meaningful.  It was a great day with our friends exploring the costal area.  We had to get back to the motel early to pack and rest for our long road trip back to Baltimore.

My next adventure will be visiting my son and his family in Houston and going to Galveston for a long weekend.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Our Maine Vacation - part one

July 24, 2017 - July 27, 2017

Sorry for taking a break from blogging; but chores, boat projects, and errands have consumed my days.

On July 24 we left the cats at the “spa pet resort” for the week and headed to Freeport, Maine.  The trip took three hours longer than we expected because of traffic slow downs and a serious traffic accident (we weren’t involved, but it caused a huge back up).  When we arrived in Freeport around 8:30 all we wanted to do was eat dinner and get to sleep!

The next morning we hit the outlets and made some excellent purchases.  Shopping does not hold the thrill it used to for me, but everyone who visits Maine has to stop at the L.L.Bean flagship store.  It is quite an experience. 

After lunch of lobster salad for me and lobster stew for Bob we drove to the Robbins Motel in Bar Harbor.  It is obvious that this motel has not been updated in awhile, but it was clean and comfortable.  We drove into the town of Bar Harbor to find a place to eat. It was a  surprise to us to see how touristy and packed with people it was.  We couldn't  find a parking place so we drove a bit out of town to The Chart Room restaurant overlooking the ocean inlet. We had a great dinner…mussels steamed in wine and garlic for an appetizer and blackened salmon for our main course. Yum!

The next morning (July 26) we visited the Acadia National Park.  It is on Mt. Desert Island (as is Bar Harbor) and has stunning views of forest, rocks, ocean, lakes, and mountains. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect….sunny skies and 75 degree temperature. The highlights were the views from atop Cadillac Mountain and the walking trails that led to the rocky shoreline scenery

The view from a walking trail
revealed this sandy beach.

. 

The beauty of the mountain is
reflected in the lake water.

I was impressed with the abundance
of wildflowers whose bright colors contrasted
 the stark beauty of the rocks and forest.

The .5 mile path to view scenery from Cadillac Mountain 

                was steep, but well worth the effort.

The beauty of the park is captured in this photo.

 Bob is in a contemplative mood resting on
Cadillac Mountain.  The natural beauty of the park
 lends itself to peace and mindfulness.  

We had lunch in Bar Harbor at Paddy’s Irish Pub. We both had large salads that were delicious.  Mine was topped with steak and Bob’s with lobster.  Afterwards we visited some shops on the main street and then drove to a small town called South West Harbor.  It was mainly a fishing village with a town wharf and some quaint shops and restaurants. 

The restaurant on the town wharf in South West Harbor
serves seafood directly from fisherman.

On Thursday morning we left early for Lubec, Maine.  We had scheduled a whale watching excursion and a room for the night at the Inn at the Wharf.  The Inn is a converted sardine factory and we didn’t know what to expect, but our room was lovely.  We had a private balcony that overlooked the wharf and harbor with wonderful views of the inlet and islands.  Because the weather was cold and foggy we opted to change our whale watching to Friday afternoon and stay in Lubec an extra day.  We used the afternoon to visit the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse which occupies the eastern most point of land in the US.

The light house’s red stripes stood out even on this foggy afternoon.

There has been a light on this point guiding boats
safely away from the rocky shore for
more than 100 years.  This building
has been there since the 1930's.

We will be in Maine for four more days, exploring more of the down east region.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Coin jock, NC to Baltimore, MD

June 13, 2017 - June 16, 2017

We left Coinjock by 6:15 on the morning of June 13.  We had a long day ahead of us with 14 bridges to pass under and one lock to get through.  Six of the bridges were opening bridges that followed a specific schedule and can slow you down significantly if you don’t reach them at the right time.  Our timing was outstanding that day and we made it through the final bridge in Norfolk, VA by 2 pm.  Consequently we decided to continue on to Mobjack Bay which is about 20 miles up the Chesapeake By on the Western Shore.  After 12.5 hours on the move we were exhausted by the time we anchored.  The next day was another long day with 80 miles to travel to our anchorage in Solomons Island, MD.  Most of the day was an easy motoring trip except we were going slower than would be expected.  Could it be a crab trap caught on the rudder?  I got in the water and checked all-around the rudder and propeller and couldn’t find any evidence of any crab traps so Bob concluded it must be the tidal current.  We dodged a thunder storm in the late afternoon and anchored at about 7 pm…13 hours after we had hauled anchor that morning.  Our anchorage in Solomons was terrific with hardly any boat motion and a nice breeze to keep us cool.

You can see what a great help to navigation
the cats have been during our trip.
This is how they look most of the day.

The next two days were much easier with 43 miles to Galesville to get an estimate on the repair of the damage the loose anchors did to the bow and then 35 miles to Baltimore.  It was great to be in familiar waters and to visit familiar places.  We ate dinner at Pirate’s Cove in Galesville, traveled under the great Bay Bridge, and returned to our condo slip in Baltimore. 

We passed numerous light houses on our
trip up the bay.  This is the Wolf Trap Light
house in Northern Virginia.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Southport, NC to Coinjock, NC

June 9, 2017 - June 12, 2017

Life on the water has greatly improved these last few days.  The sun is still hot, but the breeze is cool and we are much more comfortable in the cockpit during the day and sleeping in the cabin at night.  My attitude improves when I get a good night’s sleep.  The trip from Southport to Coinjock has been one of long days on the water.  One day we lost about 45 minutes of travel time waiting for bridges to open even though the first bridge of the day opened just as we were approaching it.  When a bridge only opens at the top of the hour catching an opening like that is reason to celebrate.  Another day we traveled 84 miles in 11 hours.  Since we got an early start that day we were anchored by 6 pm, but were hungry and tired by then.  After a great dinner of grilled hamburgers and a solar shower we revived.  

Boat travel requires flexibility as the weather, tides and water depths dictate much of your daily schedule.  Even though we are anxious to get back to Baltimore and settle down for awhile this part of the journey is part of the whole adventure and I am learning to appreciate the sites and sounds of the ICW nearly as much as the Bahamas.  This morning we hauled anchor to the sound of brown pelicans swooping down into the water and the sight of a perfect reflection of the trees in the water of a calm river.  Sightseeing when traveling at 7 knots/hour is more enjoyable than when you are traveling 70 mph on an interstate highway.  One day we saw three deer down by the canal getting a drink and a black bear cub swimming across the river.  Amazing.  The camaraderie of fellow cruisers is a big part of the adventure, too.  We saw the black bear because a boat that had just passed us radioed us to look out for the bear in the water.  

Being on a boat early in the morning traveling to our next destination is an extraordinary experience.  Standing on the deck, drinking my first cup of coffee with the cool morning breeze blowing through the cockpit and the water sparkling from the reflection of the rising sun is special to me.  That’s when I know what a privilege it is to be living this cruising life.    

We only stayed at Coinjock overnight, but it was enough time to get a fabulous prime rib French dip sandwich.  We got fuel and ice, got showers and did a load of laundry…all the essentials.

By the time I post my next blog post we should be back in the Chesapeake Bay.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Isle of Palms, SC to Southport NC

June 1, 2017 to June 8, 2017

It’s funny how different my attitude about coming north on the ICW is from going south last fall.  Both Bob and I just want to get back to Baltimore and stay in one place for awhile.  Also, it is hot and humid which makes us both exhausted and grumpy by the end of the day.  Another issue is that we are not looking forward to a great adventure we are just trying to get home.  All of these factors add up to us traveling as many miles as we can in a day and not making many leisurely stops. We should be back in Baltimore by June 15 if all goes as planned.  

After provisioning, doing laundry, and engine maintenance in Isle of Palms we were “back on the road again” by 9:30 am on June 2nd.  Our goal was to get to Georgetown by the evening.  We were making such good time that we changed our plans and anchored behind a small island (Butler Island) just off the ICW.  It was a quiet and peaceful spot.  When we got going the next morning the water was so calm that I got a great reflection shot of the shore line.

This picture gives you an idea of the area we
traveled through today.

We stopped at Barefoot Marina at about 1 pm.  It’s quite a spot with a pool and private shower rooms.  I took advantage of the pool while Bob relaxed in the air conditioned cabin.  We had to wait until 11:00 am to leave in the morning to hit the three trouble spots we needed to traverse today at rising or high tide.  So far Bob’s careful planning around the tides and trouble spots has kept us from having any major grounding problems.  Today was no exception to that.  We made it to Southport Marina at 4:30 and settled in for our two night stay. 

On our way to dinner at Fishy Fishy Cafe we saw
these shrimp boats at Potter's seafood market.
Do you think we can get fresh seafood there? 

The weather kept us in Southport for 4 days instead of 2 so our journey is delayed. Southport is a great place to be stuck even with the rain.  There are wonderful restaurants, lots of cute shops, and a Walmart we can get to by taxi for groceries.  

As an aging mermaid I think I will follow
these rules. I found this plaque in one
of the cute shops on Howe Street.

I liked this sign because it reminded me of
one of my "sistas" who I will be
seeing soon.

We will be on our way north on the ICW tomorrow bright and early!

Thank you for reading may blog.

St. Augustine to Isle of Palms

May 23, 2017 - May 31, 2017

Bad news...our dinghy motor has no compression which means we have to take it back to Annapolis and have it repaired under warranty.  We are just thankful that we didn't have this problem in the Bahamas where we used our dinghy as our main form of transportation.

In our last few days in St. Augustine I discovered a unique shop on King Street called Mermazing.  The merchandise is designed around the mermaid theme with jewelry, clothing, plaques, dolls, etc. for this aging mermaid it was a great find.

The signage on this store drew me in.

I think I might be a mermaid...how about you?

This is an example of some of the
merchandise in this store.
Unfortunately, many of the items would not
fit on our boat so I bought a cute t-shirt.

Our last few days in St. Augustine were taken up with chores and preparations for our continued trip. Of course we bought some extra pizza at Pizza Time to store for later.  We left St. Augustine a day later than expected due to a full day of rain on May 24th.  We got up early to begin our slog up the ICW.  So far we have been able to successfully get through the trouble spots we encountered on the way down by watching the tides.  We haven’t gone aground yet, but we still have a lot of miles on the ICW to travel.  Since the days are longer than they were in the fall we are traveling longer each day and covering more miles. The biggest problem we had in Georgia was the green head flies.  It is impossible for me to sit still while biting flies buzz around me so I spent two days frantically swatting flies and ridding the boat of their carcasses…fun, right?  

So far South Carolina has been better, but it has been hot and humid with very little wind.  By the end of the day I am exhausted and a bit grumpy, but a solar shower and a good meal help the situation.  We have realized that we started our trip back north too late. Next year we will leave so we can be in Maryland by Memorial Day.  Live and learn, right?

We will be in Isle of Palms, South Carolina this afternoon.  

Thank you for reading my blog.